Pivoting brush



March 12, 1968 R.. F. DI n lo PIVOTING BRUSH Filed July 18, 196'? -l I..l- I I Wu Il k., r 0 f .w a V6 u 5 2 0541 I 3l f, m 2 5 f/w 5 5 4 4 44-lllllii s I-| I I n n I-l -1 a 5 .g w J l F 2 1| ,/H 6 /O 0 w. 1 m Il x)a 1 H 6 ATTORNEYS United States atent iitice 3,372,418 Patented Mar.12, 1968 3,372,418 PIVOTING BRUSH Rocco F. Di Ilio, 708 WorthingtonDrive, Warminster, Pa. 18974 Filed July 18, 1967, Ser. No. 654,271 6Claims. (Cl. 15-165) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A brush having a pivotedspring-loaded arm and a water supply. The brush is provided withspecific mounting and Water supply connecting means. The pivotedstructure permits the brush to accommodate the inside of containers ofdifferent tapers and it is intended to be a part of a can cleaningapparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This inventionrelates to the brush art, and in particular, it relates to theapplication of cleaning the interiors of containers. More particularly,it relates to a brush having a Water or other cleansing -liquid supplysource and adapted to be removably mounted on a can cleaning apparatus,where it automatically conforms to the inside contour of containers,usually refuse cans.

Description of the prior art The Di Ilio Patent 3,264,675, discloses acan cleaning apparatus in which a removable brush having a water supplyis provided, but the brush in that patent is not automaticallyadjustable to conform to the interior of cans. The present inventioncontemplates a brush which would replace the brush as shown in FIGURE 4of Patent 3,264,675. Other known brushes include those shown in thefollowing patents: Aho, 2,602,177; Myszkowski, 2,420,260; and Mathews,2,922,174. These patents are typical of the state of art of adjustablebrushes. None of them include the concepts of quick mounting andautomatic orientation, quick water supply coupling and decoupling,automatic adjustability to lit diiierent tapers, and means to provideselective brush lengths, all of which'are on the' other hand found inthe present invention.

Summary of the invention It is an object of this invention to provide apivoted brush.

Itis another object of this invention to provide a brush having twosections pivoted together at an angle, at least one of the sectionsbeing provided with a selectively attahable brush extension and means toattach said extension, at least one of said arms being resilientlybiased outwardly, and water supply means and attaching and orientingmeans being provided on said brush.

Other aims and objects of the invention are made apparent in thefollowing speciiication and claims in which like reference numeralsrefer to like parts.

Brie]c description oy the drawing FIGURE 1 is an elevation view, partlyfragmented showing one form of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2 2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmented plan view showing another form of brushextension attaching means; and

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional View taken along line 4--4 of FIGURE 3.

Description of the preferred embodiments The pivoting brush of theinvention is generally designated by numeral 100. A iirst brush arm 10is provided. 'I'his brush arm includes a iirst brush back 11 and a firstbrush bristle `12. A second brush arm generally designated 20 isprovided, and this includes a second brush back 21 and a second brushbristle 22.

The rst and second brush armsare pivoted together at pivot 15.

A mounting means for the brush arms generally cornprises a pipe 52 and alock extension 53 together with associated parts. The pipe 52, as bestshown in FIGURE 1, is aiixed to the iirst brush arm 10 and passesthrough the first brush back 11 into the interior of the bristle. Thepipe 52 terminates in a nozzle 54. As shown, this nozzle preferablyterminates as near as may be to the pivot 15. That is, the nozzle islocated at or close to the point of junction of the irst and secondbrush arms. The exact shape of pipe 52 as it passes into the iirst brusharm 10 is not in itself critical, but it is seen that the shape as shownpermits the brush arm to be securely fastened to the pipe so that theentire set of brush assemblies is securely mounted. The mountingmeans'is generally designated 50.

The lock extension 53 is a rod or pipe that runs substantially parallelto the pipe 52 and is aiiixed to it. This lock extension has a keying ororientation function as it is explained below. The pipe 52 terminates ina quick disconnect fitting 52a. This fitting is of a standard andwell-known nature in the pipe and hose art. Many types of such fittingsare known and the exact nature of the fitting is not essential to thisinvention. Preferably it is of the type of fitting that makes a couplingwhen pressed against a matching or adaptive fitting, which can bereleased by pulling on the collar and then separating the pipe 52 fromthe pipe to which it is to be attached.

The purpose of the lock extension 53 can now be understood in connectionwith the quick disconnect for pipe 52. A can cleaning apparatus or someother base which has a water supply pipe which connects to pipe S2 alsohas provided in its structure a hole into which lock extension 53 drops.It is apparent that when the quick disconnect iitting 52a'is connectedand lock extension S3 drops into its matching hole, the brush isproperly oriented. A mount of this type, insofar as the lock extensionand quick disconnect pipe are concerned, is shown in the Di Ilio Patent3,264,675, in its mounted environment.

The length of pipe 52 may be selectively altered as required and forthis purpose, preferably the pipe S2 is broken with a quick disconnectunion. This fitting is shown just above the fragmented portion of pipe52 in FIGURE 1. Thus, when there is an extension brush added to thesecond brush arm 20, as described below, the pipe 52 is extended to itsfull length, and when the extension brush is not used, the pipe S2 maybe shortened by removing the terminal section.

A spring 56 is provided to bias the second brush arm 20 outwardly awayfrom the mount 50. The biasing eiiect of spring 56 is to make the angleform between the brush backs 11 and 21 more obtuse.

Spring 56 is mounted in a spring mount 55a which in turn is fastened topipe 52 by clamp 55. At the other end of the spring, it is provided withan arm bumper 57 against which the brush back 21 bears. In FIGURE l,

the brushes are shown with a spring in what is normally its mostcompressed position in use. The relationship between the first andsecond brush arms is shown as approximately a right-angled one. Thiscontour would be the one automatically obtained in cleaning the interiorof a can whose bottom and walls were at right angles. The spring 56tends to bias the second brush arm 20 outwardly to the position shown inthe fragmented phantom outline designated with numeral 36 and a phantomline pointer.

For cans having varying sizes, the effective length of either or both ofthe brush .arms may be changed. This is accomplished by the selectiveaddition of brush arm extensions. In FIGURE 1, the second brush arm isshown provided with a brush arm extension 30. This extension has a back31 that is provided with bristles like those of the basic brushes. Themeans by which the brush arm extension 30 is provided is best seen injoint consideration of FIGURES 1 and 2. The second brush back isprovided with a recess 21a. Into this recess iits a matching tongue orextension on brush extension back 31. A pair of holes are providedtransversely across both back 21 and back 31, passing on each side ofthe dividing line between the two backs, one of the holes passingthrough the tongue on back 31. A U-pin 41 is inserted through theseholes. The base portion of the U remains of course on one side, and asbest shown in FIGURE 2, a hollowed section is provided on the side ofthe backs so that the base portion of the U-pin may be set into thishollow and not protrude beyond the borders of the backs.

A rst pin arm 31a of the U-pin 41 extends through the tongue and recess,and a second pin arm 31b extends through the back 31. These arms 31a and31b form the legs of the U-pin 41. Each of these arms is threaded at itsextreme end and U-pin nuts 42 are provided to hold the U-pin inposition.

A keeper plate 44 is provided over the junction between the second brusharm and the extension arm and is held in place with keeper plate bolts45.

The brush arm extension connecting means is generally designated 40.

At the upper lefthand corner of FIGURE l is shown a U-pin hole 11a atthe outer end of the first brush arm 10. This is of course part of theconnecting means that would be used to fasten a brush extension on thefirst brush arm. For the purposes of illustration, only brush armextension 30 is shown, it being apparent that either the first brusharm, the second brush arm, or both could have extensions.

An alternate form of the brush arm extension connecting means isillustrated in FIGURES 3 and 4. A brush arm 60 is provided, whichincludes a brush arm back 61 and a brush arm bristle 62. To this isattached a brush arm extension 70, including a brush arm extension back71 and brush arm extension bristle 72. The brush extension arm 70 is tobe attached to brush arm 60 for the same purposes and in the sameenvironment as was described in connection with the extensions inFIGURES l and 2.

The brush arm back 61 is provided at the sides thereof near the extremeend with a pair of spring loaded lugs 82. Each lug 82 is backed with aspring 83. As best shown in FIGURE 4, each spring 83 is provided in anaperture or recess in a side of the back 61, and the spring biases thelug 82 outwardly So that the lug 82 extends beyond the limit of the back61. Any convenient retaining or ange means prevents the spring 83 fromexpelling the lug 82 completely. It is apparent that the lug 82 may bedepressed into the recess. As shown in FIGURE 4, one of these springloaded lugs is provided on each side of the back 61 near its end.

The same structure is provided on the end of the brush arm extension 70,at the end thereof where it is to be coupled to the brush arm 60. Abrush arm connecter keeper 80 is provided. The keeper 80 is asubstantially U-shaped metal member which ts around the brush arm backs61 and 71 across their'point of juncture. The side portions of thiskeeper are provided with two pairs of holes 81a, Which register with thespring loaded lugs 82.

It is apparent that the brush arm 60 and the brush arm extension 70 maybe joined by sliding the keeper 80 along one of the backs until all fourholes 81a are registered with their registered matching spring loadedlugs 82. Alternatively, the keeper may be made with enough resilience sothat instead of having to be slid along the back, the legs of the keeperin which the holes 81a are located may be spread wide enough apart sothat keeper may be simply clipped or slipped over the junction line ofthe brush arrn and brush arm extension directly into position.

It is apparent that the length of one or both of the brush arms may bethus set or chosen to fit the general dimensions of the can to becleaned. It is also apparent that the spring 56 will press the brushbristles 22 firmly against the side of the can to be cleaned and alsothat it will permit the second brush arm and its extensions to pivot tomaintain rm contact with the side of the can regardless of its degree oftaper or lack of taper. Referring to FIGURE 1, the normal useage is toplace an inverted can over the assembly as shown. Gravity thus bringsthe bottom of the can into contact with bristles 12, and the springtension as described brings the bristles 22 into contact with the sideof the can. Water, preferably mixed with a detergent, or other cleaningliquid is sprayed or propelled through the nozzle 54, and the can ispreferably rotated so that the brushes clean the inside thereofthroughly.

The scope of this invention is to be determined by the appended claimsand is not to be limited to the foregoing description and drawings whichare illustrative.

I claim:

1. A pivoted brush for cleaning the inside of containers comprising,

(a) a first brush arm,

(b) a second brush arm, pivoted at one end thereof to one end of saidfirst brush arm,

(c) a mounting means for Isaid first and second brush arms, saidmounting means including a pipe, said pipe being affixed to said firstlbrush arm, and terminating in a nozzle adjacent to said brush arms,

(d) spring means mounted between said mounting means and said secondbrush arm, said spring means being biased to force said second brush armaway from said mounting means,

(e) at least one of said brush arms having at the end thereof mostremote from said pivot, part of a brush arm extension connecting means.

2. A pivoted brush as set forth in claim 1 wherein said pipe in saidmounting means is provided with a quick disconnect coupling at the endthereof most remote from said nozzle and a lock extension is provided onsaid mounting means, said lock extension being athxed to said pipe andextending parallel thereto.

3. A pivoted brush as set forth in claim 1 wherein at least one of saidbrush arms is provided with a brush arm extension, said brush armextension being held to an end of said brush arm by brush arm extensionconnecting means.

4. A pivoted brush as set forth ,in claim 3 wherein said brush armextension connecting means includes a U-pin comprising legs beingthreaded at one end and being connected with a base portion at the otherend, a hole through the brush arm extension and a hole through the brusharm, each of the holes being positioned near the respective joined endsof the brushes, and registering with the legs of said U-pin, said legspassing through said holes, and being secured therein by U-pin nuts onsaid threaded ends, and a keeper plate over said joined ends, saidkeeper plate being secured to said brush arm and brush arm extension bykeeper plate bolts.

S. A pivoted brush as set forth in claim 4 wherein one 5, of said brusharm and said brush arm extension has a tongue, and the other of said`brush arm and brush arm extension has a recess receiving said tongue,and one of said holes through which one of said U-pin legs is provided,passes through said tongue.

6. A pivoted -brush as set forth in claim 3 wherein said connectingmeans comprises a pair of spring loaded lugs on each of said brush armand brush arm extension means, each said pair being provided near thejoined end of said brush arm and said brush arm extension respectively,each said lug lbeing biased outwardly by a spring to an extent that eachof said lugs protrudes beyond the side of said brush arm and ,brush armextension, and a generally U-shaped keeper plate, said keeper platetting over part of both said brush arm and brush arm extension acrossthe joined ends thereof, said keeper plate being provided with two pairsof holes, registering with said spring loaded lugs and receiving saidlugs.

References Cited 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS 614,305 11/1898 Jones 15-165925,909 6/ 1909 Heywang et a1. 15-165 XR 982,566 1/1911 Berg 15-165 XR2,420,260 5/ 1947 Myszkowski 15-22 10 2,673,363 3/1954 Repper et al.15-164 3,264,675 8/1966 Di Ilio 401-1 CHARLES A. WILMUTH, PrimaryExaminer.

15 PETER FELDMAN, Examiner.

